John McAfee’s decision to stop shilling ICOs as a regulatory day of reckoning draws near is the top item in today’s edition of Bitcoin in Brief. Additional stories include Bittorrent trying to reassure users it wont cryptojack them to mine tron, Binance’s latest venture in Malta, a tether replacement getting VC backing, and Paris Hilton’s dad getting into crypto.

Day of Reckoning for ICOs

Antivirus pioneer and token pump master, John McAfee, has announced he is no longer working with ICOs nor is he going to keep recommending them. The reasons he gave for the move are “SEC threats” and that “those doing ICOs can all look forward to arrest. It is unjust but it is reality.”

An explanation for what McAfee might be fearing came from Chris Concannon, the president of Bitcoin Futures supporting Cboe Global Markets. “The reckoning will come in two waves,” he said in an interview with Business Insider. According to him, ICO investors should lay awake at night worrying as the SEC will soon go after market participants. Following that he expects a torrent of class-action lawsuits against the teams behind projects. “If you sold someone an unregistered security you are liable to them if they decide to take them to court,” Concannon said.

Despite all of this don’t count McAfee out of the market just yet. He also claimed to be working “on an equivalent alternative to ICOs which the SEC cannot touch.”

Bittorrent Tells Users Not to Worry About Tron Takeover

Bittorrent Inc, the company managing the development of the peer-to-peer file sharing protocol, is trying to reassure users they have nothing to fear following its recently reported $120 million acquisition by Tron founder Justin Sun. It issued a statement that: “Our attention has been drawn to the news items that have appeared in the past few weeks speculating about a change in BitTorrent’s business model. We wish to reiterate that BitTorrent has no plans to change what we do or charge for the services we provide. We have no plans to enable mining of cryptocurrency now or in the future.”

Binance Backs Accelerator at Malta Stock Exchange

The Malta Stock Exchange has announced it is joining forces with Binance for the launch the MSX Fintech Accelerator Programme. The stock exchange will offer crypto startups access to professional business services and facilities including in-house accounting services and payroll, as well as office space, communication, conference rooms and a training centre. In addition to Binance, the programme has also signed up other companies including Thomson Reuters as mentors.

The Chairman of the Malta Stock Exchange, Mr Joseph Portelli said, “It is clear that Malta is becoming a Fintech and blockchain centre of excellence and we want to allow local and foreign companies the ability to bring their ideas to the market faster. This programme offers foreign entrepreneurs easy access to a ready-made solution at one of Malta’s most prestigious addresses – the Malta Stock Exchange.” A Binance spokesman added, “We moved our operations to Malta precisely because it has demonstrated its progressive approach to supporting and developing the crypto and blockchain industry. Malta is creating a safe and legislated environment for the industry to become reputable, attracting companies like ours and many others. The Malta Stock Exchange reflects these values, providing the infrastructure for entrepreneurs and start-ups to flourish in what is otherwise a highly competitive industry.”

Stablecoin “True USD” Raises $20 Million

Trust Token, the creator of the Trueusd (TUSD) stablecoin, has announced it completed a $20 million strategic investment round with support from the firms Andreessen Horowitz, Block Tower Capital, Danhua Capital, GGV Capital, and others. The money is meant to support the development of the asset tokenization platform and expansion of its legal, partnership, product, and engineering departments. Since launching in March 2018, Trueusd’s market capitalization has grown to $49 million, with the tether alternative reaching an average daily trading volume of $22 million on exchanges such as Binance, Bittrex, and Upbit.

Trust Token CEO Danny An said: “The support of these leading investment firms represents a significant step towards our goal to build a compliant tokenization platform for currencies, commodities, and real-world assets. We will draw on the combined expertise and network of these firms as we grow our industry partnerships and extend the reach of our first product, TrueUSD.”

Paris Hilton’s Dad Wants Some Serious Crypto

Richard Hilton, a real estate broker from Beverly Hills, hotel royalty and father of Paris Hilton, is now tapping the bitcoin whale market. He is reportedly offering an 11-bedroom 16th Century mansion in Rome for sale with cryptocurrency. The auction for the property, estimated to be worth over $35 million, will begin on June 28. “The auction shows real estate’s growing trust in blockchain and provides crypto investors an opportunity to diversify and solidify their portfolio with a trophy asset,” Hilton said.

What do you think about today’s news tidbits? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

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Avi Mizrahi

Avi Mizrahi is an economist and entrepreneur who has been covering Bitcoin as a journalist since 2013. He has spoken about the promise of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology at numerous financial conferences around the world, from London to Hong-Kong.

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